At the core of every digital light processing (DLP™) projection system is an optical semiconductor known as a digital micromirror device (DMD) chip. The mechanical alignment of the DMD chip to the rest of the light engine is critical to properly locating the picture onto the screen.
A special fixture or machine is required to align the DMD assembly (including the heatsink and PC board) to the core optics array. Features are typically built into the assembly for the machine to manipulate the DMD chip so as to align it.
Existing light engine designs hard mount the DMD assembly to the optics housing and then adjust the optical system around the chip position. Since, this alignment is performed visually on the screen by an operator the electronics are live during this alignment and the DMD chip needs to be in focus for the alignment to be performed properly.